Prof. Development: Off the Shelf

Professional Development: Off the Shelf

Maribeth Nottingham

Worth A Thousand Words: Using Graphic Novels to Teach Visual and Verbal Literacy: A Review

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” (Fred R. Barnard, 1927)

Ad man Fred Barnard first posted a form of this quote in 1913. He was printing an advertisement for a local auto supply house. The 1913 quote read “One look is worth a thousand words,” but in 1927 he changed it to the quote we all recognize today. I think about these words often when discussing graphic novels (GN) with my peers and my pre-service teachers. Finding these words in the title of a book that focuses on helping parents and educators embrace GNs in lessons was both a surprise and, after reading it, a real treat. Meryl Jaffee and her daughter Talia Hurwich worked together to provide educators with a tool that not only gives you the building blocks of lesson ideas, it gives you entire lessons planned out. In the preface of this book, Dr. Jaffee confesses she did not always embrace GNs in the classroom or for her own children’s reading pleasure. She felt they were not appropriate for the “well-read” classification. She grew up with comics like Archie and Veronica or super-hero versions. It was her children that brought her over to the light! They had her read I Kill Giants, by Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Nimura. She was, in her own words, “blown away.”

As someone who spends a great deal of time and research trying to convince teachers to utilize GNs in their classrooms, I felt the title of Chapter One with my whole heart. In “Graphic Novels: Fears and Facts,” the authors take us through a list of valid fears. They share in great detail how GNs fit into a classroom setting, including where they fit in the standards. In fact, throughout this book they give us examples, websites, research, and details that should make using GNs in the classroom a breeze. They share strategies for reading the novels and

understanding the vocabulary that is unique to GNs. Beginning in Chapter Three, lessons are included. The authors also share assessment ideas for each lesson. These are not surface level lessons—they include group and independent work, debriefing, vocabulary, GN examples, and scripted instructions. This is a “How to” for teaching graphic novels in deep and meaningful lessons that should build rich literacy instruction in any classroom. I also love that it is NOT just about the reading itself but also covers GNs and the writing process. They do this while providing resources, references, and guidelines for supporting your GN choices and classroom libraries.

Lastly, the authors make sure you feel like they are on this journey with you. They don’t want to leave you unsupported and out there on your own. They feel GNs will “empower” you! I love that—I also want educators to feel the power behind students reading a great graphic novel.

“Reading without graphics is perceiving (thinking), seeing is believing (confirmation).”

(Robert Nottingham, 2022)

References

Jaffe, M., & Hurwich, T. (2018). Worth a thousand words: Using graphic novels to teach visual and verbal literacy. Jossey-Bass. Kelly, J., & Niimura, J. M. K. (2010). I kill giants. Image Comics.

Mary Elizabeth (Maribeth) Nottingham is an associate professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University at Durant, OK, where she also serves as the Early Childhood Coordinator. She was recently honored as a recipient of the Faculty Senate Teaching Award in Education for the Educational and Behavioral Sciences Department and currently serves as coeditor of The Oklahoma Reader. She can be reached at mnottingham@se.edu.